Featured Image: Students participate in the SGA Unity Project on April 6, 2026 in front of Crisp Hall. (Pacer Photo / Laur Davis)
The Unity Project is back at the UT Martin campus this week, sponsored by the Student Government Association (SGA).
The Unity Project is based on an art installation created by Nancy Belmont and has been introduced among different college campuses such as Wheaton College and Penn State. The project includes poles set up in a circle with different statements on them to identify with students. The installation utilizes pink string for students to tie between these poles to eventually create a web.
The poles are set up outside of Crisp Hall in the grass area. The attraction is hard to miss with the large orange and blue poles protruding nearly seven or eight feet from the ground.
The symbolism in the piece demonstrates that even though students on campus come from different backgrounds and walks of life, they all are connected in some way.
“It’s important to build onto the community and culture that we have here. I feel like projects like these can bring a new perspective to those who feel isolated. You can see others have lived the same life as you and those who haven’t,” said SGA President Bailey Parker. “We do have a lot of different students on campus. I feel like this event will target everyone. I hope that they realize just because we are all different, we can all come together and realize that we are all at the University of Tennessee at Martin at the same time.”
SGA aims to inspire hope and reassurance in students that may feel isolated, different from their peers or need a deeper feeling of connection.
“I think once you see it build up, we’ll see that we’re all connected and it’ll bring a lot of awareness to those students who feel isolated. I think the set up was nice and the titles really connect,” said UT Martin student Lacie Coleman from Dyersburg, Tennessee, who participated in the project.
Other students think that the project is good for reminding the student body that no matter where they came from, what experiences they have or who they are, at the end of the day, they are Skyhawks.
One of the most empowering parts of the installation is one of the poles that connects all students regardless of any differing characteristics. It simply states, “I am a Skyhawk.”
There is nothing more impactful than that.
If you want to participate in this event, it is active during the rest of I Heart UTM week, April 6 through April 10, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in front of Crisp Hall.
